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"My father, still a teenager, kept a partisan uniform in his closet, prepared to join if a rebellion to free Poland erupted."
Read more about and his family's immigration to the United States of America.
What is your career goal and why?
My career goal is to find a job in supply chain management somewhere in central Texas after I graduate with my MBA this December. My goal is to start with a large logistics organization to broaden my horizons in the realm of supply chain. Eventually, I would like to use my fluency in Polish with either an international firm or an American company that does business in Poland. However, as I have learned throughout college, things usually turn out differently than you planned! But I trust that the Big Man upstairs will help keep me from going astray.
Why did you choose UMHB?
I chose UMHB because of the football program's winning tradition and because the MBA program offered an International Business concentration. Before COVID, my undergraduate degree was in International Business, and due to being bilingual and loving intercultural interactions and problem-solving situations, I thought the school would be a great fit. Additionally, our campus is gorgeous, which is always a big plus!
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Tell us about your parents' journey to the United States?
My parents were born and raised in communist Poland, which the Soviet Union occupied as a satellite state. Soviet military garrisons, mandatory Russian language lessons, and people mysteriously disappearing after angering the authorities were an unfortunate daily reality. The state police arrested my father's friend after posting anti-communist flyers, and he returned several days later with his eyes badly injured. My parents are from Lódz, a former textile industry city in the center of Poland. Growing up in this environment made my parents fiercely patriotic and passionately freedom-loving. My father, still a teenager, kept a partisan uniform in his closet, prepared to join if a rebellion to free Poland erupted. Behind the Iron Curtain, whispers of the United States evoked awe of that seemingly blissful oasis of freedom. Naturally, my grandparents wanted to do everything possible to give their children a better life. They found that swimming was my father's ticket out. He worked hard and won the Polish National Championship in the 200m butterfly. After a year as a high school exchange student in California, my father secured a full-ride swimming scholarship at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he earned the nickname, "The Iron Butterfly." My parents met when they were 14 and 13 and moved to Hawaii in August of 1990 in their early 20s. They arrived with only several hundred dollars in their pockets, and my mother went straight to work at fast food joints. My parents lived in Nanakuli on the Leeward side of Oahu. My mom would work double shifts at the local fried chicken place, grocery store and McDonald's. Initially, she did not speak a word of English, and it took her some time to realize that the local Pidgin language is, in fact, not English! Before her interview for an Assistant Manager position at McDonald's, my mother was seen by the management team exiting the fried chicken restaurant, crossing the street and changing out of her uniform to her McDonald's one. After entering the restaurant, the management team erupted in hoots, hollers and applause. Before graduating, my father had some janitorial stints at McDonald's ("When you think of garbage, think of Akeem!") and taught swimming. After graduation, he landed a real estate research analyst and consultant job. My parents lived in Hawaii for nine years. Eventually, work took them to Houston. My father worked for KPMG as a consultant and later for BearingPoint and Deloitte. My mother attended the University of Houston Downtown and earned a degree in psychology. She worked for Sheltering Arms with Alzheimer's patients before leaving the workforce to take care of me when I was born. Currently, my mom is a Special Education Coordinator who works with special needs kids from kindergarten to high school, and my father is a public servant. I have a younger brother, Sebastian. He is studying to become a commercial pilot, and he was also an athlete.
How do you think your parents' journey inspired your football career?
My parents' journey has inspired me to develop the mindset of a hard worker, have a go-getter spirit, and cling to family-centered morals. They have instilled avid patriotism in me for both Poland and the United States and staunch opposition to anything connected to communism. If someone says the American Dream is a lie, they need to give my parents a call! My father's athletic achievements as a DI athlete pushed me to strive for excellence in sports, and my mother's persistent work ethic motivated me to keep moving forward constantly. I began training in Taekwondo when I was five years old and went on to win several state and district (multi-state) championships in sparring and combat sparring and earned the rank of 3rd-degree black belt. I was in Taekwondo for 13 years. My first football season was not until my junior year of high school. In high school, I was a Trumpeter in the marching band. Watching the football games from the stands as a sophomore inspired me to join the team and play for my hometown. I already had the athleticism; I just had to learn a whole new sport! Before transferring to UMHB as a Graduate student, I made the 2022 ASC Outstanding Sportsman Team of the Year while at Southwestern University. I would not be playing college football if it weren't for my father; he convinced me I could do it and helped me believe in myself.
